She turned ahead.

Cadus's face changed.

His eyes grew nearly four times what they had been, turning crimson. His skin tanned like bronze, began to thin, turning green an yellow, mottled, bleeding out from the inside like it was an experiment gone wrong in a Sith's chambers.

The smile on the face became a grin.

Padme saw red before it was consumed by darkness.

It was the murderer on Naboo during the blockade.

Padme would never forget him.

Nute Gunray.

Neimoidian...

She did not spring to her feet, nor did she lash out. She held herself, taking a hold of any emotion impulsively flying through her, and clenched it with her will.

"Neophyte...You hold yourself well and have keen reflexes. You recognize your emotions, the impulsiveness of them, and you hold them with pure willpower. You're not as clumsy as Jedi and Sith brats, and you aren't oblivious like those maids who guarded you. Your Master is wise, very wise...But, your potential is also immense..."

Rage pumped through Padme.

Those brave women risked so much to guard the queen with their lives. They had been the ones that saved Naboo-they were the heroes. Padme owed them everything, and their lost lives still strained her. Maids and handmaidens was not the proper name for those women.

She shot up to her feet, knocking her crystals all over the place. She snapped her hand out, and screeched as her hand shot forward, thrusting out with the force. She pushed, pulled, and lashed all at once, for a moment, erupting, but her attack was knocked aside as easily as a blade would have been yanked free from her hand.

The creature laughed.

"Such pain...Such fury. Your emotions are pure, untainted, and unhindered! You keep it all clenched in your fists like burning coals. How long has it been? Twenty years? Since those alien children died before your eyes..."

Padme clenched her teeth.

The creature grinned, cackling madly.

"Yes, it was when those brats died. Perhaps you've always kept it all clenched in your fists, but that day changed you forever. You got a taste of death. You seen death. Blood. You seen them die, you watched life fade, and you knew there wasn't anything you could do to help them. You watched those young children and infants die. Try to focus all of what you have kept clenched in your fists since that day into these."

"You..." Padme hissed, fists shaking.

He called her crystals towards him from the ground, examining them with a growing grin before he cackled once more like a being consumed by madness.

"You are an inquisitive neophyte...Yes, a worthy and powerful collection of crystals...Exquisite and expensive, not even Jedi and Sith can get a hold of some of these precious crystals. You went through great lengths to obtain some of these crystals as a whole, rather than halves or shards...Their properties alone enhance, and make up for inherent flaws you've already deduced with light-whips and your own aversion to combat...Your Master has trained you in warfare, this I know for fact..."

He threw two glinting objects at Padme. They were two fully fashioned light-whips, beautifully swept with silver, gold, and electrum. The gently curved hilts molded exactly to her grip, and there was the addition of tassels of solid matter, as well as pure energy tassels that extended in different directions.

It was just the kind of design Padme would use. Her hands were petite, her fingers long, and the gentle curve was inlaid perfectly to fit in her grasp. The solid tassels and pure energy tassels would confuse her opponent long enough for her to strike from four different directions.

She activated them, and thirty flares, fifth-teen from each whip, lashed out and extended several dozen meters before her eyes.

Padme focused on the sweltering pull, the call to dominate, the scream to kill, and the shout to subject all to her will. With a deep breath, she reduced the multitude of whips to just one, few dozen meter length tassel in each hand.

"Energy and solid matter, you attack your foe on three different fronts. But, you do not fear anger. You do not fear. You don't lose control. You hold your emotions. Even now, you hold yourself steady...Why?" The creature asked.

In a flourish, it activated its own light-saber.

"Why do you clench your hatred like you are ashamed of it? I can hate me. I am greedy. I pollute worlds. I kill billions for wealth. It is natural to hate me. After all, I am the one that gutted those handmaidens like fodder and hung them from the palace. I am the one that stacked those bodies of children up! I am the one that stacked those bodies of elders and young Gungan! You should have heard how all of the hostages, even those young Gungan...Squealed."

A scream of fury tore out of Padme, and nothing could stop it. Like a hot flame had been ignited, her emotions came alive. Padme snapped the crimson flames at the creature. Their blades tangled, her own tassels striking sporadically, viciously, responding to her distilled fury.

He managed to weave out of her patterns, lancing his blade through the writhing tassels of crimson.

"You see what you can do when you don't hold yourself back? See what happens when you don't control yourself!? Allow yourself to erupt!"

"Shut up! It infuriates you that I am not like Jedi or Sith!"

"That fact gives you power. It makes me more interested in you. Anger, rage, fury, hatred...Pain. They are all something you use, like a weapon. You thought the same thing a second ago. You turned your fury into the hot flame of hatred, and your tassels responded in kind. You made more than one lash out at me. You will distill your fury and your rage will become its furnace, and your hatred will be like black smoke that spews, I must ask...Why do you deny yourself?"

"You won't sway me, creature!"

Padme drove her tassels toward the creature again, twisting her hips and pivoting, using her whole body and the force to maneuver the meters long flashes of crimson like she had learned, like she had trained for hours and hours to achieve, flicking it so each tassel pinpointed his eyes and the soft spot of his throat.

"I don't need to sway you. You're trying to kill me!"

Padme hissed, teeth clenching.

"You will not be swayed by outside influences, your attacks make that very clear, and your selection of crystals make it even more clear. You will make the decision yourself to use your hatred in time. But, it is those around you, and if harm comes to them...That can sway you to absolute darkness."

"I hold and control my anger, just like all of my emotions."

"Unless those around you suffer. If I gutted your sad mother who just wants you to stay on Naboo, you would be swayed. If I attacked your two nieces, and your sister...I imagine you'd erupt...If you seen what I did to those handmaidens and those little brats before on Naboo, you would already belong to me! You would solely live to eviscerate me and all who come into your life."

"No...You dark creature...Your words are poison. Do not speak of my family and never mention my nieces in your breath! You are venomous, speaking of murdering those who I see or encounter. I will not sway to the whims of hatred."

"You are nothing but a fool then. You are on the path of power and you turn away willingly! You are no better than those of Ashla, who remain in self deluded ignorance! You hold yourself at bay, always on the cusp, but you don't go one way or the other...You've been this way since you were a child!"

"It isn't power I seek! I do not care about power or fame and I never did. It isn't power that I seek above all else!"

Her tassels tangled into knots, looping and striking with the creature's blade. The power of the blows made her grip her light-whips tighter, and distance herself with a hasty back-flip.

The creature moved forward, keeping her barrage away from any vital points.

"You lie. It is power you seek, but not a raw power meant to crush and destroy...Not a power realized in combat or conquest, not a power based on and realized in victory and defeat...You seek a different power entirely."

The creature knocked aside her attack, and stepped back to stay clear out of her range.

"How else will you save that weeping mother you abandoned if you do not have that power? How else will you bear children for that same mother if you do not have that power? How will you protect Naboo, your sister, your little nieces, and your own children without that power? Power is everything. Whether it is realized in victory and defeat or never faltering, power is power!"

"Not at the sacrifice of my family! Not at the sacrifice of my home! Having all of the power means nothing if it means I must kill children!"

"They'll all die if you are weak. They'll die if they are weak. The strong live and the weak die. The weak are nourishment for the strong!"

Fury boiled through Padme.

She whirled into motion, spinning, flipping, and her tassels responded in kind as they looped and coiled in figure eights. Her body was taut with bursting rage, and to her shock the cracking strikes passed through her enemy's neck.

The creature laughed, smiling with glee.

"Why!?"

"Remember Neophyte...I am just a vision. Your vision. I am the one who will deliver to you what you most desire. I am the one that you fear most. I am what you do not know and fear to know, that which you fear most to confront, and most fear to understand."

"No, I do not fear you! You do not have any power over me!"

Padme launched the crimson fires, side to side, looped them, and even wrapped them around her foe. Again and again she tried to strike a blow, tried to dismember him, and used every technique she had learned thus far, but it was no good.

She began to pant and gasp for breath.

The creature's own light-saber whirled slowly, lazily, deflecting every single one of her moves as if it were something basic. With a small twist, the creature flipped his blade within the crimson lances, and pulled while surging forward with a quick movement.

The light-whip spun in the air, Padme reached out to take it, calling it towards her vehemently. It spun back towards her, but before it could come close it disintegrated into pieces.

The creature grinned down at her, reaching out with its hand. Padme felt the force slam into her body, wrenching around her like fingers. She yelled as she rocketed through the air and hit the wall, sending cracks rippling from the point of impact.

When her head cleared, she found herself sitting on the floor, the pieces of the light-whips in her lap along with her crystals.

"The dark side will give you everything that you desire and more. It will give you the power you've always thirsted for. It will give you the power to pave a new era, it will give you the ability to make your dream a reality. Admit it and give yourself over to it."

Padme stared up at the creature, finding an eerie calm. "You only persist because I entertain you. I can make you go away and you have no power over me. I won't give into my fear. It was a mistake from the beginning."

His arms were still over head, his light-saber hissed. "I will return. I dwell inside you. I am the hatred nestled deep in your heart..."

He disappeared.

Padme looked down.

Two completed light-whips lay in her lap, the very same ones the creature had tossed to her, and the very same ones she used to attack that creature.

Were they real?

She picked them up and turned them over in her hands. She gripped them. They were solid against her fingers, the curves elegant, swept, and molded to be a perfect fit.

She activated both.

Pink lancing whips of energy shot forth in eighteen different directions, surprising her enough to make her jolt back, but she kept her grip tight on both weapons so she didn't drop them on her flanks.

She deactivated her weapons, activated them again, seen the dazzling pink, and deactivated them once more.

There were a lot less tassels and the crimson flares were gone...

Padme deactivated the light-whips, remaining in seiza, and clenched her fingers against her thighs to keep herself from trembling. She bit down on her lip, struggling to keep herself from wavering. When she was certain she was in complete control, she pitched her gaze around her surroundings, keeping her mind and senses sharp.

The holo-image of Cadus was sitting cross-legged in a meditation position, waiting for her.

"Are you real?" Padme asked.

"As real as a hologram is. You are in your apartment on Coruscant. Have a look at your surroundings. You see?"

Padme looked to the horizon, seeing past all of the towering buildings, into something far beyond all of it. She turned her focus onto her couch and brushed it gingerly with her fingers.

She remembered she had the light-whips deactivated, and kept both by her sides in a soft grip.

"You've done it, Padme. You have completed your first pair of light-whips."


Padme did not want to speak about her vision of the creature that provoked her.

"This is a good sign, Padme. You let your feelings guide you, but you did not let them control or rule you. You held yourself in line with your intent. When you allow your instincts to take over, they will not fail you nor go astray from your intent."

Padme nodded.

She took comfort from the pleasure and pride in the gatekeeper's voice.

"Every Jedi goes through through trials to build a light-saber, especially their first light-saber. Many must overcome terrible visions. Many must fight in themselves. They must confront that which they fear, that which they do not know, and what they do not want to know."

Padme nodded.

She would not think of the words that the creature spoken.

It took on the appearance of Nute Gunray, a Neimoidian in general for a reason, because a Neimoidian invaded her home-world, and it was a Neimoidian which she first hated with all of her heart and burning passion.

"Is it okay if I construct more?"

The gatekeeper didn't look mad or appalled by the question, the uplift of its lips and uncrossing of its arms spoke volumes.

"Most Jedi do not construct more than one unless they have to or if they practice Jar'Kai. However, as a matter of pragmatism I would say you should construct more than one, and it should be different each time. You should have a different variation as well, not just light-whips, even if they are your preference. Specialize in the art of the light-whip, study the others and take what works. The more variations you know and have, the more possibilities and insight you have in battle. The more light-sabers, light-whips, light-pikes, light-shotos, and so forth you can hide on Naboo and in your places of residence in general, is all the better in the long run. "

"And each time I construct a light-saber I face a trial?"

"Only your first of many trials, my young but brilliant apprentice."

"How did you know I would hide so many?"

The gatekeeper looked her in the eye. "My creator implemented data about your family, you, and a lot of background in general. So I know your situation and your feelings. I also know the feelings of your family, if that is any consolation?"

Padme's comlink signaled. She hissed in anger, feeling like she had been pricked with a hot needle. It signaled again, and she jumped.

She spoke into it and listened intently. Then she cut the communication and turned to the holo-image. "I am afraid this lesson must end. I am needed."

"By whom?"

"Bail Organa, but I think I may understand what his and Mon's true objectives are now. They never lined up with my goals or objectives in the first place, they are running counterpoint to everything I stand for, and what I want for the future."

The gatekeeper merely nodded, Padme pressed her finger to the holocron, and like a light, the whole thing turned off and folded back together.

Padme felt like she had been taken out of somewhere serene and slammed back into a chaotic realm full of beings and people who thrived in it. It was so muddled, hazy, and unfamiliar to her for a long few moments that she just kept her eyes closed.

She stood to her feet and slipped her new light-whips into a little hiding spot in her bedroom.

The first hiding spots of many.

At last she could be a true partner to Cadus. At last she could hold her own and pull her own weight, regardless of what was thrown at her. At last she was advancing her knowledge, power, and skill to a great degree.

She would not think of the disturbing encounter, the maddening fight, or the mystery of how the light-whips were made.

It did not matter.

This light-whip would be what keeps her alive into the next era, and the first of her vast assortment.


With the help of the Temple's marvelous ointments and salves, Aola's burns and bruises were healed from her vicious sparring match turned all out brawl with Deo. But the restlessness in her heart hadn't gone away. She tossed and turned in her bed, too giddy to do anything other than move.

Outside her door, just down the hall, she heard the rest of the apprentices preparing for sleep in their dorms where they all slept together. Good nights were exchanged, and shouted from chamber to chamber. Finally, the lights powered down, the apprentices went quiet, and the halls were silent.

Aola felt smothered by the peaceful energy of the unwinding students. Even Arto powered himself down and moved into his corner of the room where he went to rest. It did not sooth her spiking heart to have her buddy rest, but she understood.

Her fellow apprentices could rest.

They did not have thoughts that tormented them nor anxiety that made them jumpy.

Aola sat up, throwing her blanket away, unable to stop imagining that maybe it could all be a trick or ploy to make her feel better.

There was a soft knock at her door.

Quickly, Aola ran and opened it. Talisibeth stood on the other side, not saying a word, just looking at her. The young redhead wore her black robes, her light-saber clipped on her side.

Her tunic smelled fresh.

Talisibeth watched her steadily. She noted the bruises and burns were gone from Aola's form, for the most part.

Talisibeth looked past her, to Arto in his secluded corner at rest.

"You can't sleep either?" Talisibeth finally asked, eyes growing big.

"Master Cadus gave me sweets and then he made me and you his Padawan. He fought Windu tooth and nail for the right, I never seen Windu actually shut up before that moment." Aola said, hoping she'd understand how overwhelming it was for her.

"I tried to sleep, but then I started thinking about possible missions and training. Master Cadus really wanted us to be his apprentices."

"So everyone knows already?"

Talisibeth nodded, looking dull. "Yes, if they didn't know or hear about it today...They will know and hear about it tomorrow."

Aola pulled on the sleeve of Talisibeth's tunic. "Will you train with me? Maybe we can work off some of this nervous energy? We can hang out in here and study too, if you want. We just have to stay quiet so we don't startle Arto."

"We can train together." Talisibeth welcomed the physical exercise.

Honestly she studied so much recently, her mind felt like a maze of holocrons most of the time. But, there were only a few places in the Temple they could go now to spar. There was always one sparring chamber that didn't see much attention.

They could go on the roof or outside, but...

"Where should we practice?" Talisibeth asked.

Aola grinned, gesturing for Talisibeth to come into the room. "I have a secret spot. It's by the Room of Thousand Fountains."

Talisibeth nodded. "There are Masters moving around more because the young ones are hyper. The Younglings have been running all over the place."

Aola put something into the older girl's hand, clenching it softly. "We'll use these crystals to augment our stealth."

Talisibeth nodded, leading the way.

Cadus looked around Aola's room, contemplating the conversation he had with Yoda earlier in the day. Over his head, dozens of model fighters droned near the ceiling. It was clear Aola had made them herself in her spare time, the repulsor-lift fields moved them slowly through the air, humming.

Books and charts were piled on her study table along with holocrons and datapads. Her plain white and brown tunics were folded neatly, set off to the side.

Her Arto was resting in its usual place near the far corner of the wall.

He was sure neither of the young girls could imagine leaving the Temple. It was their home. The only home they had ever known. The only home they had ever had. But, he would extract both of them to save them from what was coming.

If Deo had his way, he would make sure Aola never became a Knight. If he gathered fellow Padawans and ambushed her, or cut her off and made her fight...Aola would be expelled for the simple fact she beat over fifty arrogant Padawans.

Talisibeth would only support her, thus adding to the melee...

Why did Yoda always think that he could see into hearts?

Even he had no such skill, no matter what Yoda thought.

He just accepted people.

Aola had anger. He could see it. Just as he had seen the anger in many of of his Padawans. He could feel the unrest in Talisibeth, just as he had felt the same unrest in many of his Padawans. He knew both feelings well himself, and he knew all young people, just not Jedi, must face such obstacles head on.

Thoughtfully, Cadus gazed out the window.

The sun was down.

It was night.

Hmm...Is that where they went off to? By the quiet pond where the light sparkles...

Because most were resting in the Temple, the illumination banks were all turned off. The darkness was nearly absolute. Aola crouched with Talisibeth in the trees by the shoreline of the sparkling lake. They could make out the glint of the water, thanks to the angle in which one of Coruscant's moons shined its light.

"Do you think we can get away?" Talisibeth murmured.

"Luck is on our side. Besides, these crystals are stealth specialized and will keep us hidden, as long as that is our objective." Aola replied.

They already adjusted to how dark it was. They knew which senior Jedi would walk through the area, searching for any students that may have wandered off. They knew the escalating patterns of the senior Jedi who would come to this very room in search of reflection, serenity, and students sneaking around after time for bed.

Teenagers sneaking in for a quick kiss, not under the harsh gaze of the senior Jedi.

"All right." Talisibeth nodded in agreement.

They waited for hours. Every so often they stood and stretched their muscles. They focused on moving meditation by watching the vegetation around them, finding a calm in their faint rustle, and energized themselves with the simple exercise.

The lakeside was so still that it was no more than a flicker, a faint whisper that alerted Talisibeth to the presence of another.

Aola had heard it. Perhaps she had even heard the disturbance earlier, since her head was already turned toward the sound.

Both called on the force and their crystals to help them. They were dressed in dark robes and blended in perfectly with the plexus of vegetation.

They kept themselves perfectly still.


Two figures emerged onto the beach from their left, from the path they had anticipated. The figures were hooded, but Talisibeth could tell by their height, it was one of the older Jedi Knights. The stances were familiar, too.

Talisibeth stilled as the faint reflecting light from the river fell back to reveal the smiling face that she always knew would belong to Kit Fisto.

The flicker of Adi Galla's Tholoth headdress made her still even more.

She leaned over and put her lips to Aola's ear.

She mouthed the words, and Aola nodded. The two Masters stood on the shore and simply observed their surroundings. Then they began to move around more, lit glow rods and moved around the lake, each looking over every meter carefully.

"The young ones are restless and hyper." Adi said in an amused tone.

"They're nervous because of the tournament. None of them want to lose. It doesn't help Cadus and Anakin spoiled them all with sweets today."

"They would like to be of service, but we must be wary of their enthusiasm." Adi said, keeping things more strict than lighthearted.

"So they do not make the same mistakes that we have. I'm going to search the other floors around this area. I sense someone is here. Perhaps one or two more besides this one, they are likely together. I'll meet you back in the Archives. If young ones give you are a hard time, I'll get help."

In minutes, Kit Fisto was gone, vanishing under the thick vegetation. Instead of heading back to the turbo-lift, Adi chose an overgrown path to wade her way through. Talisibeth knew it well. It led through the undergrowth toward the utility buildings that held floaters and hydro-crafts.

Aola wanted to follow, she mouthed it onto Talisibeth's ear.

The older girl shook her head a little.

Aola followed behind Adi.

It wasn't her first time sneaking around. It wasn't Talisibeth's first time sneaking around either, and it was one way how she got the nickname Scout. They kept quiet and could anticipate the people of their observation through study.

Either way, they would find trouble or get to train.

Adi was being very careful, but Aola even more careful. She had more practice in moving silently and cloaking her presence. Her Master stressed stealth to a point where it had to be default, and not something to sink herself into.

She followed the older Jedi by sound, smell, and hearing, rather than sight.

The overhanging trees blocked out the surroundings as the path wound farther away from the lake, soon enough they would be by the utility hangars for the hydro-crafts.

Did Adi notice her?

Aola slowed her pace slightly.

A leaf brushed Adi's shoulder, and she moved a fraction.

Aola stopped and went still. Adi turned, her headdress whipping around. She could not see Aola or Talisibeth in the darkness, nor feel their presence.

"Is someone sneaking around?" Adi called out, tone thick with humor.

She turned forward, then looked back, both times she looked into the vegetation. Adi took a few steps back, peering into the darkness.

"I am sure a Youngling is near..."

Aola listened to the older Jedi's voice fade away and figured it was no fun to follow her. She would most likely double back and return to the turbo-lift to go back to the Archives, or she would start to trace back and find her.

Aola knew someone else was out here besides them, that is why the two Masters were present in the first place. It was why Kit Fisto went a different way. It was also why Adi turned around like she did. Whoever else was moving around couldn't keep themselves still or secluded enough.

Talisibeth was waiting on a path several feet back. "She catch you?"

"No."

"Kit Fisto caught the other person who was here. It was Loci." Talisibeth said pleasantly.

Grinning, Aola returned the sentiment. "We got past them, how cool is that? Why didn't you follow me, though?"

Talisibeth blinked, looking a little blank. "Because, Kit Fisto doubled back and came by me. Loci was moving around some ways off, but still close enough where I could have gotten caught. You moved so quietly I don't think he could have heard you. I had to stay still because his head tentacles allow him to pick up sound and movement differently."

"You really observe, Scout." Aola said.

"That's why I have the nickname."

"You covered for me. Even some Jedi Masters can't do that, and because I moved to follow Adi there was less of a presence by you."

"So we're a good team." Talisibeth said.

"The best."

"Yes." Talisibeth agreed, looking at the crystal in her hand. "This crystal really helped."

Aola moved towards the lake, her feet bare, the sand tickling her soles. Talisibeth moved carefully to join her friend, but stilled as the faint reflecting light from the leaves revealed the clean shaven, powerful face of the man that was now her Master.

Cadus stood on their flank, moving out of vegetation.

"My hiding spot..." Aola looked where he had come from, surprise racing through her.

"You are young. Do you think you are the only one who has chosen that spot?"

Aola blinked, not sure what to say.

"I thought I would find you both here. Young ones, you are restless." Cadus continued, finding amusement in the way their expressions morphed.

Talisibeth's eyes grew big as she watched him approach. She looked in his eyes, then glanced away, but she remembered her training, and looked back into Cadus's eyes.

"Ease your heart, Talisibeth."

"Are we in trouble?"

"Are we in trouble?" Aola repeated, not looking pleased at the notion of getting in trouble like Loci.

There were stern warnings and lectures about sneaking around at night.

Cadus smiled, putting both of them at ease.

"Perhaps someone else would see it fit to scold you two, but I am more than amused. Impressed too, you got past Adi and Fisto, even though they've had their hands full thanks to Anakin and I riling up all of the youngsters with sweets. You're restless because of the tournament and becoming my Padawans. You both want to train, right?"

Talisibeth and Aola looked at each other, then nodded.

"Good. We'll work on your cadence. Get off of the shore now. You've hid your presence well, but you will both leave behind footprints."

Aola raced towards the vegetation where Cadus stood, and Talisibeth sprinted after her, both moved as if the sand would set fire to them.

Though it was dark, Cadus could see the small grains of sand in the vegetation. Neither Aola nor Talisibeth used the force to clear their soles, nor their footprints of the sand.

The folly of youth was to be enjoyed and endured by those going through it. It wasn't something that was meant to be rushed or should be rushed, young ones must have time to make trouble, and most of all make mistakes.

That is how they would learn.

"You have sand on your soles and your footprints are in the sand. Make sure to cover yourselves better next time when you are leaving this place after sneaking in. Remember, Master Yoda rises before dawn to come in here to meditate and I come in here to reflect as well at times. Having a crystal that amplifies your stealth is useless if sand is giving you away."

Aola and Talisibeth bowed their heads, looking sheepish as Cadus vanquished their tracks and any sign that their presence had been around.

"Yes, Master."

"Before I begin training you two...Barriss Offee brought something to my attention as well as Master Yoda's concerning you, Aola." Cadus regarded Aola with a calm expression.

Aola drew her brows together and she lowered her head.

"Strength of will is hard, and it is something every Padawan must learn. Willpower is not built in one day or even one decade. To cultivate a strong will, it takes time. Aola, why did you go along with Deo and fight him?"

Talisibeth opened her mouth, but Cadus shook his head. Though these two were friends, and would always defend each other no matter what, he was beyond that. He was speaking solely to Aola, and she had to explain herself to him as his Padawan.

Aola turned her large eyes to her feet, clenching her fists, uncharacteristically quiet.

Cadus gently turned her head so she was looking into his eyes. "Aola, I am not like Windu or Master Mundi."

"I brought shame upon my fellows and myself with my actions." Aola responded, her voice soft.

"You speak of the consequences of your actions. I ask you the reasons for your actions, Aola."

"I should control my anger...And I shouldn't let stupid brats older than me rile me up."

"No, Aola." Cadus said patiently, his smile remained easy and calm, turning into a contented and peaceful expression, like the sun breaking through storm clouds.

Aola looked at her feet again, biting her lips.

Cadus allowed it.

"Were you provoked, Aola?"

Aola looked up at him with a frown.

"I am only asking you why, Aola." Cadus said, voice calm.

"What I did...I did it because I lack control of my emotions." Aola answered, voice soft once more.

Cadus's expression turned observant, and his eyes softened, searching, reading, and he placed his hand on Aola's shoulder.

"Do you take responsibility for your actions?"

"I do, Master Cadus."

Cadus nodded.

"I...I reacted..." Aola said. "Deo, he..."

Cadus remained silent, but when Aola fell silent without finishing he found the heart of the problem.

"You were in pain, because of something Deo said to you. What did he say to cause you pain?"

"He...He called me a slave. I don't even care about him calling me vapebait even if I am one of the best pilots in the galaxy despite only being ten years old...But, he isn't the only one that has called me a slave in the Temple..."

"You are correct, Aola. They have always hassled you because of your past, yes? Hassle you because you are more advanced, despite being younger, yes?" Cadus's smile thinned, and he placed his hand on her head.

The girl looked up at him, confused. "You're not going to yell at me or make me repeat a bunch of stuff a million times?"

Talisibeth looked at Cadus, confusion slowly painting her expression. "Am I going to get in trouble?"

"Why would you get in trouble Talisibeth? You haven't done anything wrong...Yet."

Talisibeth, like Aola, stared at Cadus in confusion.

Cadus shook his head, gesturing for both to follow him.

"You are both young and allowed to make mistakes, as long as you know where they stem from, can accept them, and own up to those mistakes. Which Aola did. There is no sense in disciplinary action being taken if one owns up to what they did. Besides, I know Deo started it, we have droids everywhere and footage, and more importantly I am about to train you both."